Attacking
Summary *In attacks, players use their forces to attempt to destroy an enemy base. *Attacks are started from the Archipelago map and cost Gold to start. *Troops and Gunboat Weapons are used to destroy the enemy base. *The overall objective in an attack is to destroy the enemy's main building (Headquarters in most cases, Outpost in the case of Resource Bases, Power Core in the case of Operation power bases, and Mega Core in the case of Mega Crab stages). *Winning an attack can award Resources, Victory Points, Power Stones, Intel and Prototype Modules. Starting an Attack *Troops need to be trained in your Landing Craft prior to the attack. *Attacks can be started by tapping an island on the Archipelago map that has an enemy base on it. **You cannot start an attack if you have no Troops available for attack in your Landing Crafts, however you will be able to scout the base. *Tapping an island will present two options (Figure 1): **Scout: This allows you to view the base without starting an attack. Tapping on buildings will show some of their statistics such as health and DPS, and tapping on defensive structures will show their attack range. The amount of available loot is determined at the time of your first scout of the base. This is explained on the Loot System page. **Attack: This button takes you to the attack. You will not be able to attack a mercenary base if that player is online or if he/she is currently being attacked. Beginning an attack costs a certain amount of Gold that depends on your Experience level. Attack Interface *Once you arrive at the attack, a 40 second countdown will begin at the top of the screen. Once you launch your first Landing Craft or fire your first Gunboat weapon, the 40 second countdown will immediately end, and the actual attack timer will begin. **The attack timer shows the amount of time that you have left in the attack. The time limit is 4 minutes. Once the attack timer reaches zero, the battle will end and you will be defeated. No rewards will be won, but any troops surviving when the time runs out will be safe. **At any time during this 40 second countdown, you can tap the button found on the top right corner of the screen to return to the Archipelago. You will still expend the Gold you used to start the attack, but you will not lose anything else. *In the bottom left area of your screen, there will be one button for each Landing Craft that you loaded for the battle. **Tapping one will cause the landing zone of the beach(es) to be highlighted. (Figure 2) **Tapping anywhere inside the highlighted area will place a small flag and launch the Landing Craft. (Figure 3) **The troops will leave the Landing Craft and move toward the flag once they land. *In the bottom center area of the screen, there will be a single button for your Hero, if you have unlocked any. **The button appears as a profile of the Hero before he/she is deployed, and then changes into a button for his/her Ability once he/she is deployed. The method of deploying a Hero is identical to that of deploying a Landing Craft. **Tapping the button after the Hero is deployed will make the Hero use his/her chosen Ability, if there is sufficient Gunboat Energy to do so. **The Hero Abilities cannot always be used; there is a short cooldown for the ability after it has been used. Certain abilities cannot be used if there is no possible target for the ability; for example, the Universal Remote cannot be used if there are no Defensive Buildings left on the battlefield. **The button for the Hero's ability will be grayed out if it is not available to use, or if the Hero is knocked out. *In the bottom right area of the screen, there will be one button for each Gunboat weapon that you have unlocked. ** Tapping one will cause the battlefield to be highlighted (Figure 4). **The weapons can be fired anywhere inside the highlighted battle area. **Above the weapon buttons, the amount of Gunboat Energy that you currently have is displayed. *Weapons that have a time limited effect will have a small circle that shows how long they will last next to where they land. The color of the timer corresponds to the weapon type (Figure 5). **Pink timers represent Flare durations. **Yellow timers represent Medkit durations. **Blue timers represent Shock Bomb durations. **White timers represent Smoke Screen durations. *A button will replace the button once you start the attack. After tapping retreat, a button will replace it. Tapping this will immediately cause any Troops on the battlefield to stop attacking and run back to the Landing Craft at a higher than normal speed. They can still be attacked while doing so. Once they are all off of the battlefield, the attack will end and no rewards will be received. **Critters and revived Troops will not fall back and will instead stand their ground, distracting defenses for the duration of the retreat process. **Any troops that have successfully made it back to the Landing Craft during a retreat are completely safe from defenses and even incoming projectiles from said defenses. Attacking *The overall objective in an attack is to destroy the enemy's main building (Headquarters, Outpost, Power Core or Mega Core). This is the only way to win any rewards from the attack, or in the case of a Resource Base to capture it for yourself. **Exceptions are Power Bases and Colonel Gearheart's War Factory, where you can earn partial rewards for destroying part of an enemy base. *Each Gunboat weapon costs a certain amount of energy to be fired. **After each shot, that weapon's cost will be increased by a certain amount. Visit each Gunboat weapon's page to learn more about energy costs. **The amount of energy you start with at the beginning of an attack is determined by your Gunboat level and Gunboat Energy Statues. **For each building that is destroyed during the attack, you will receive 3 Gunboat Energy immediately, and the types of Gunboat weapons you can newly afford will flash for a hint. *Gunboat Weapons are used to support your troops so that they are able to reach the Headquarters and destroy it. **After being fired, each Gunboat weapon will take some time to reach its destination depending on how far that destination is from the Gunboat so it is important to time your Weapon launch. **Artillery, Barrages, and Shock Bombs will affect troops as well as buildings, so be careful where you fire them. ***Artillery and Barrage will damage troops that they hit. ***Shock Bombs will prevent troops that they hit from moving and attacking. **Artillery can be shot at places where buildings touch to deal equal damage to each one (pictured below). *Troops that are damaged to the point where their health reaches zero will be defeated and will not return to your island after the attack. **Troops that survive the attack, regardless of the outcome of the attack (a victory, a defeat by running out of time, or a retreat), will return to your home base after the attack. *If there are no troops or Critters remaining, after all troop projectiles and airborne Artillery have hit their target and ongoing Barrages have ended, the battle will end instantly if you don't have enough Gunboat Energy for additional Artillery, Barrage or Critters. If you can afford at least one of them, you'll be given a short delay to fire them (those you can afford will flash). **If the Headquarters is not destroyed after that point then the attack concludes in a defeat for the attacker. Rewards *Once the base's main building (Headquarters, Outpost, Power Core or Mega Core) is destroyed, the attack will end and rewards will be received. *Partially destroying a base without destroying the main building will not result in any rewards. Note, this is not the same as attacking a base in an Operation or Colonel Gearheart's War Factory, see Operation and Colonel Gearheart respectively for more details. *An amount of Resources depending on how much the opponent had unprotected will be received. Learn more about resource rewards on the Loot System page. *One or more Victory Points may be awarded depending on the type of base destroyed. Learn more about this on the Victory Point page. *Power Stones of a specific element, depending on the island's environment, may be received. Learn more about these and how the chance of receiving them is calculated on the Power Stone page. *There is a chance of receiving a piece of Intel. Learn more about this on the Intel page. *There is a chance of receiving Prototype Modules. Learn more about this on the Prototype Modules page. *If the island conquered is a Resource Base, you will gain control of it. Learn more about this on the Resource Base page. *There's an achievement which is called Conqueror that gives a total of 60 Diamonds upon destroying a total of 1000 enemy player bases, and another achievement which is called Steamroller that gives a total of 90 Diamonds upon destroying a base of at least level 50 without losing troops. Category:Beginners Category:Battles